Anxiety ruined sleep, this was a fact. Adrenaline was a hell of a drug, also a fact. The two in tandem were a hell concoction that no mortal should have had to suffer through.

And yet, Shouri and his Resonators pushed on, despite subjecting themselves through a whole lot of suffering.

Twelve hours non-stop in the air had them arrive in Lyreann at eight in the morning local time. The jet lag was real, considering they left Dalliva at two in the afternoon.

Either way, the quartet was on a mission.

As soon as they were freed, they hit the ground running and made their way to the Lyreann MA Office full sprint. While they made their way there, Shouri texted Colette--who was more than happy to meet them in the lobby.

The door sliding open and revealing Colette safe and sound took some of the edge off of their last thirteen or so hours.

After getting checked in, the group went to Colette's room to figure out what was going on. Shouri and his team took the couch while Colette and Kaira sat their opposite on a pair of recliners.

"Who was chasing you?" asked Rebecca immediately.

"It was a weird Resonator, I think?" Colette held herself, looking to Kaira for back-up.

"They used some weird magic. Like their spells came out in clumps of winged balls and could fly around unlike any normal spellcasting," the jackal attempted to explain.

Rebecca furrowed her brows, folding her arms across her chest while she considered the info. "I know mice channel their magic into little tailed balls to release later, but winged ones? Never heard of that," the combat expert hummed.

"Is there anything else that stood out?" asked Shouri.

"The Maestro!" Colette cried out.

"Their Maestro didn't seem right," Kaira added.

Shouri and his trio exchanged a perplexed glance.

"What wasn't right about them?" questioned Pacifica.

"They looked--uhhh, like they weren't all there, like they were half asleep or something?" Colette tried to explain, humming as she tried to figure out how to describe the occurrence.

"When they spoke, it was like it wasn't them speaking. It was as if they were being forced to call the Resonator's spells against their will," Kaira tried.

None of the other four had anything to say about that--they were just as perplexed as Colette and Kaira.

Shouri shook his head and stood from the couch. "Either way, let's go home we—"

"Wait!" Colette exclaimed. "I--uhh…" She looked around, earning many confused looks. "Shouri, can I talk to you alone?"

The guildmaster opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words. He snorted and gave in. "Fine." He looked back to the four Resonators in their midst. "We'll be right outside."

No one argued as the two Maestros stepped out of the room.

"Colette, why don't you want to leave? If this guy is actually hunting you--"

"I need to go to Lyreann Castle."

Shouri stared, mouth agape. "What? Why?" he asked curtly.

The auburn girl trembled as her head fell with shame. "I uhh--um…" She shook her head, holding herself, avoiding her guildmaster's expectant gaze. "I--" She closed her eyes.

"Colette, talk to me," Shouri said, his voice growing more stern.

"I don't know!" she cried out, tears finally slipping loose as she braved facing him.

His frustration mounted. "Then why?!"

"It keeps telling me to!"

"It?"

"The dreams! The voice! She says she's waiting for me in Lyreann Castle!"

Shouri was dumbfounded, he just stared, his shoulders tensed as his glare remained trained on the frightened girl before him. More than anything, he was frustrated with the situation, not Colette. It took him longer than he wanted to admit to find his voice.

"Who is she?" he questioned, keeping his tone even.

"I don't know," she replied.

"When did you start having these dreams?"

"I don't know."

Silence fell upon the hallway.

Colette finally broke the hush after what felt like an eternity. "I need to go Shouri, please help me," her voice quavered. This was completely unlike her. She was scared out of her mind--between being hunted and these mystery dreams--Colette was at her wit's end. The dark bags around her half-lidded eyes told of the quality of her sleep; non-existent.

Even so, she was desperate to listen to this voice, whatever it was.

"If I left, would you go anyway?" he tried. She nodded.

Shouri allowed himself a weary sigh. "I'm not letting you walk into what is most likely a trap. Let's discuss it with the girls and we'll go first thing tomorrow morning, okay?"

The scholar smiled and nodded, wiping the tears from her face. "Thank you, Shouri," she squeaked.

"Voices?" Pacifica questioned when they finally settled in their own room.

"It's a trap. There's no way it isn't," Shouri grumbled, as he furiously searched on one of his tuners for any explanation of the phenomenon.

"The closest thing that might cause that is something like Occhi Oscillavano," Rebecca mused. "Even then that just causes hallucinations, nothing that can be controlled or targeted like this. At least, as far as I know."

Shouri nodded in agreement. "She was very specifically told by whatever voice is to go to Lyreann Castle," he said.

The trio of girls hummed in thought. They agreed with their Maestro--this had to be some kind of trick or trap. What could they really do when the afflicted was so thoroughly convinced?

"Maybe I should go stay with her?" Taika offered.

"Why's that?" Shouri looked to his lunar element.

"I could keep an eye on her and try to remove the hallucinations with Cancella il Ritmo," she suggested.

Another thoughtful hum passed around the group.

"Let's do it--Taika go to Colette's room and stay with her. Let her know what our plan is." Shouri held out her tuner for her.

Taika nodded and accepted the device. She regarded the clean screen for a moment, tilting it to see her own reflection. While it was her idea, it would suck to be apart from the loves of her life even for a night. That being said, she didn't fancy walking into a trap. She grabbed her medical bag as she made her way to the door. She turned back to her beloveds, a soft pang in her chest as she found her words. "Me ne vado!"

She left the room, gently closing the door behind her. The beads under her shirt rattled as they spoke of her unease. Wary eyes tracked her as she passed by various groups meandering through the Maestro's quarters. Confidence stepped in line with the vixen--any of these randoms could be dealt with easily should they try to start something. Long gone were the days she feared average Maestros. Especially after facing down a monster like Ilea Vim and coming out alive.

It didn't take her long to find her way back to room 27, where Colette and Kaira stayed. Taika knocked on the door, and after a moment of silence, Kaira opened the door.

"Taika," the jackal greeted with surprise. "Why are you here?" she asked.

"I wanted to keep an eye on Colette," replied the lunar fox.

"You?" Kaira's brows wore worry as they rose up.

"I have Cancella il Ritmo--I wanted to try to see if this voice is being magically caused with a spell or something," Taika tried to explain.

"Oh, I see." Kaira finally gave in and moved aside to allow the fox to enter the room.

As soon as Taika entered the room, she found the other Maestro curled up in bed, hugging a pillow.

"Who is it?" asked the Maestro, refusing to budge.

"Taika," Kaira replied.

The auburn girl sat up and shot her tired gaze to the lunar in her room.

Taika walked over with conviction in her step and sat on the bed, swinging her bag around to dig into it. Out came a small bottle filled with pills. She tapped a single tiny capsule from the container and set it on the sheets next to her. Putting the bottle away, the healer grabbed her tuner and held it for Colette.

The Maestro knew what was expected of her and placed her hand atop Taika's. "Which one?" Colette asked.

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"Cancella il Ritmo."

Colette nodded and repeated the spell.

It wasn't nearly the same quality or quantity as Shouri's rhythm--that much was immediately clear to Taika. She had enough to cast with but…

...Colette was weak, at least when compared to Maestros like Shouri, Emily, or even Vince.

Taika was provided rhythm either way, so she did as was asked of her, and placed a hand on Colette's forehead. A warm glow flowed through the Maestro. The healer burned away every ember of rhythm she was provided, making sure if their theory was right, the affliction would be chased out.

Next, the pill was offered to the ailing Maestro. "Here, take this."

"What is it?"

"Sleep aid. I want to make sure you sleep through the night tonight," Taika informed her. "Between me and Kaira, nobody will disturb your sleep," she assured the Maestro.

Colette agreed with a tired nod and popped the capsule into her mouth. Kaira was right behind her with a glass of water to wash it down.

It didn't take the Maestro long to pass out, leaving the two Resonators alone in the room.

"Has she told you what she's been hearing?" asked Taika.

Kaira nodded slowly. The earth element reached toward the table and scooped up the room's notepad. She studied it for a moment, though her expression clouded before she finally responded.

"Follow the warmth to the fortress of fire." "Be wary of the fangs that seek your servitude" "I await your arrival with bated breath."

Taika found the corners of her lips tugging down as a brow perked up. "Huh?" However, her confusion wasn't addressed by common tongue, but more soliloquy.

"In ancient stone I await." "Slumbering amongst the displayed and prized." "From dawn to dusk I'm freed from gates." "I cherish the seconds until reprise."

The lunar fox had nothing to add. "The voice was poetry?" asked Taika.

"Something like that," Kaira regarded the notepad with befuddlement--it was clear she didn't know what to make of the situation, either.

Taika knew she couldn't piece this together on her own, but wasting brain power trying to do so wouldn't prepare her for whatever awaited them at the castle tomorrow. For that, she rose and addressed the other canine. "We should get some rest."

Kaira gave a slow nod and went to the bathroom to freshen up before bed. She was just as tired as her Maestro.

With that in mind, Taika decided to fold back one of the recliners and use that as her bed. She didn't need a blanket or pillow. This was already leagues more comfortable than the scarce bedding she was afforded in her pre-Maestro life. Her beads flew out and systematically turned out the rest of the lights in the room--the only two remaining being the cracks through the bathroom door and Taika's tuner, which she used to text Shouri.

Shouri - MESSENGER x

That's what she said. 11:45 PM </div> </div> <div style="overflow: auto"> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto">

Shouri So she pieced together it's Lyreann castle from that? Seems suspicious. 11:45 PM

</div> </div> <div style="overflow: auto"> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"> Kaira was convinced too. 11:46 PM </div> </div> <div style="overflow: auto"> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"> Shouri Pacifica says they both were 100% convinced. 11:47 PM </div> </div> <div style="overflow: auto"> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"> I guess it wouldn't hurt to see the castle again. 11:47 PM </div> </div> <div style="overflow: auto"> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"> Shouri Sahji hates us, I'm expecting the damn thing to explode tomorrow. 11:49 PM </div> </div> <div style="overflow: auto"> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"> It'll be okay Sho, cuddle Paci and Rebby extra for me. 11:50 PM </div> </div> <div style="overflow: auto"> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"> Shouri I will. Love you. 11:50 PM </div> </div> <div style="overflow: auto"> <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"> Love you too, goodnight 11:50 PM </div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

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